Vest, Wanda Whitenack
Wanda Elizabeth Whitenack Vest, of Check, Virginia, born June 25, 1925, passed away at her home on November 7, 2024. She was 99 years old. She was preceded in death by her parents Chester Whitenack and Gracie Vest Whitenack, her husband, James Bernard Vest, sisters Claudine Conner and Hazel Austin, her son-in-law, Jesse Jackson, and daughter-in-law, Cheryl Vest.
She is survived by her three children, Carol Jackson of Virginia Beach, VA, Robert Bery Vest and wife Mary of Bent Mountain, VA, John Vest of Floyd, VA, and her brother Mason Whitenack and wife Charlotte of Troutville, VA. She has nine grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild due in January 2025. She also has many beloved nieces and nephews.
Wanda had an interesting life in her 99 years. She went to a one room school, Double Springs School, in the early grades. She loved school but said she had difficulty with her hearing and couldn’t whisper so she spent time “in the corner” for talking in class. She wanted a high school education and to do that she had to walk two miles through the fields carrying a lantern to catch the bus to go to school. She wore boots and jodhpurs to keep her legs warm on her walks and started a fashion trend in her school. After graduation, she worked in a local factory and earned enough money to buy a bedroom suite that is still in her home. During WWII she worked in Roanoke, VA at Norfolk and Western Railway and learned to use a Burrus calculator. While doing her job she found a mistake in the coal shipment calculations that saved Norfolk and Western $2,000. After WWII, she married Bernard Vest and moved back to Check in Floyd County and they started a family and had a dairy farm. Over the years she worked in local factories and then retired from Skyline Manor in Floyd where she worked in dietetics and in housekeeping. She was always ready for fun and participated in skits and shows with other employees to entertain the residents.
Wanda and Bernard raised their family in a strong Christian home. They went to church together and participated in church activities. Wanda loved her family very much. She said her proudest accomplishment was her three children. She was an excellent wife and mother and later grandmother and great grandmother. She was a great cook known for her biscuits, coconut cakes, applesauce cakes, pies, macaroni and cheese, and lasagna. She enjoyed sewing, especially quilts.
She made large quilts and then baby quilts when the grandchildren and great grandchildren came along. Wanda loved reading and read the Bible every day and was always reading a library book or a book her daughter, Carol, had sent her. Wanda was loved by family, friends, and neighbors. She was kind to everyone. She will be missed by all who knew her and loved her.
Special thanks go out to Wanda’s granddaughter, Amie, and her husband, Brian, and their children, Abby, Katelyn, and Caleb, who provided loving care for Wanda/Granny in her home during her final years. Also, thank you to caregivers Robin and Michelle, and Carilion Hospice workers and Good Samaritan Hospice workers for the care they provided. A graveside service officiated by Pastor Jerry Hylton will be held at Iddings Cemetery in Check, VA at 11am on November 11, 2024. Funeral arrangements provided by Gardner’s Funeral Home.
